The Ford EcoSport may be geared as a city crossover, but thanks to its tall ride height and relatively short front and rear over hangs, it has the makings of a capable off-roader. Apparently someone over at Ford Brazil had the idea of making the EcoSport as a 4WD machine for the rugged terrain.

Officially making its world debut in Brazil is the 2018 Ford EcoSport Storm. It features a more rugged exterior with styling cues borrowed from the F-150 Raptor, along with a 2.0-liter powertrain that is mated to a 4WD system.

Beginning with its exterior, the EcoSport Storm gets a revised front fascia dominated by a new front grill similar to that from the F-150 Raptor. Further upping the ante on the EcoSport Storm are the bi-Xenon headlights, LED daytime running lights, blacked-out foglight bezels, revised front bumper with integrated skid plate and plastic wheel lip moldings.

Other portions of the EcoSport Storm such as the door handles, side mirror caps, hood louvres, roof rails and spare tire carrier get a gloss black finish. Rounding up the additional exterior upgrades include a built-in roof rack, redesigned rear bumper and the 17-inch Dark London alloy wheels.

Stepping inside, the crossover comes with Ebony Black leather seats complete with Satin Orange contrast stitching. Meanwhile, key portions of the cabin such as the center console, infotainment system and door handles come with the familiar orange hue. Providing in-car entertainment is SYNC 3 that is channeled on an 8-inch touchscreen display. Features such as navigation, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as such come standard on the EcoSport Storm.

Under the hood, the 2018 EcoSport Storm is powered by a 2.0-liter Direct Flex inline-four which alllows it to run on either gasoline or ethanol. With the former, the engine produces a modest 170 PS with 202 Nm of torque. When fed with the latter however, the 2.0-liter generates 176 PS with 221 Nm of torque. Power is then sent to a six-speed SelectShift automatic transmission and 4WD system.

There is no word, however, if Ford will offer the EcoSport Storm outside South America.